The other day I decided to try a Bipolar Strength Feat (combination feat of strength with a different implement in each hand; read more here: Bipolar Training).

David Horne’s World of Grip is having a contest – a video tournament for a tee-shirt giveaway, and I have been meaning to put in a video for it for quite some time, but I couldn’t seem to fit it into my training.

I wanted to do something that had never been done before by anyone that I know of, and I was coming up short, but it finally came to me the other day – Lift the Inch Dumbbell, hold it at lockout, and perform a kettlebell flip with the big 95-lb Kettlebell.

If you are a loyal reader of this site, you probably know what the implements are in this video, but many of the people who watch YouTube do not know exactly what some of the implements I train with are, so I am going to try my best to explain everything below.

Inch Dumbbell

In my left hand in the video, I am performing a suitcase deadlift with the Inch Dumbbell. The Inch Dumbbell is NOT named due to the size of the handle, the gap between the fingers when gripping the dumbbell, or anything like that. It is named after the performing Strongman from the late 1800′s who originally introduced the dumbbell, Thomas Inch. Inch would take his challenge dumbbells (there were three, if memory serves) with him to his performances and challenge on-lookers to lift it. This most likely almost never happened, since the level of thumb and fingertip strength required to do so are pretty substantial.

The thing that sets the Inch Dumbbell apart from other Grip Strength challenge items is it’s weight, size, and design. Check out the specs on this piece:

Inch Dumbbell Specs

• Weight – 172-lbs
• Handle Size – 2.38 to 2.47 inches, depending on the manufacturer of the replica
• Design – One solid piece of Cast Iron

A lot of people scoff at the Inch Dumbbell when they hear that it is only 172-lbs, but because of the handle diameter and the fact that it is all one piece of cast iron, it is a bitch to lift. The globe heads reach way outside of the handle, so when they start to turn, the handle also wants to turn as well, and it begins to rip out of your hand. To lift it, you need a strong thumb to resist rotation, strong fingertips to lock in on the handle, and / or a strong wrist to compensate for weaknesses in the other two areas.

95-lb Kettlebell

This dumbbell came from Max Kettlebells, a now defunct Kettlebell company that was located in Pennsylvania, so the design is not the same as the more widespread Dragondoor Kettlebells and others that are so popular out on the market these days. Instead of being completely round, the handle actually has what feels like corners and flat spots on it, so when you flip it you want to catch it just in the right spot or else it can hurt pretty badly.

Aside from the fact that the Inch is so damn hard to lift and the Max Kettlebell is so damn hard to flip and catch, there is more to this feat that makes it feat so challenging.

When flipping and juggling kettlebells, the power to elevate the bell comes from the hips. Because I was holding the massive Inch Dumbbell beside my hip, I could not hinge at the hip or generate any drive from my glutes in order to propel the kettlebell upwards, so essentially what you are seeing is a really big cheat front lateral with the kettlebell, instead of a powerful swing that you would normally see.

So, all together, this is a giant combination feat that involves the Grip Strength needed to lift and hold the Inch Dumbbell, the strength to flip the 95-lb Kettlebell, and the coordination to maintain all of the tension to not crumble under the uneven loading of the Inch and the continuity to then catch the Kettlebell and recover to the standing position.

This feat is MUCH more difficult than the similar one I did several months back with the Blob instead of the Inch Dumbbell.

I am looking forward to continuing my experimentation with different Bipolar Lifts in the coming year, as I feel it is a very good form of training in order to hit multiple aspects of strength all at the same time.

You should give it a try too! Put together a Bi-Polar lift, give it a try in your next workout, and then post a comment below to tell everyone in the Diesel Universe about it!

Thanks and all the best in your training.

Jedd

P.S. Need help learning to Flip and Juggle Kettlebells? Check out Logan Christopher’s DVD, The Definitive Guide to Kettlebell Juggling, the most complete resource on the planet for Kettlebell Juggling.

A cool feat of strength that you can do is rolling up a frying pan. If you want to learn how to do this, pick up the November issue of Men’s Fitness and check out the short “How-to” piece I put together for them, on page 24, called Roll Up a Skillet.

Like many feats of grip strength, this is one where if you learn to engage the rest of your body with Radiant Tension, you will be able to perform the feat better.

What’s Radiant Tension?

I talk about Radiant Tension in this kettlebell press article I did last fall. (Here’s the accompanying radiant tension video).

Radiant Tension is a skill. It’s not as easy as clenching your teeth and squeezing the bar as hard as you can. That’s not what it is about. You have to be able to turn it on and off as you need to.

Here’s an example with a feat you might have a bit more experience with than rolling up a frying pan…card tearing.

When ripping a deck of cards, you want to use radiant tension when starting the tear to keep the cards tight together, to get the initial tear started, and to involve the larger muscles of the torso in the feat.

However, once the tear is started, if you are too tight, it can be tough to keep the tear going. What results is you get the initial break going and then stop. The. you throw another jolt of power into it and it tears a little more, and you essentially keep starting and stopping over and over until you tear the whole way through the deck.

Through practice, however, you can understand how much Radiant Tension is necessary to grip the cards and get the torso muscles involved, and also to keep the tear going fluidly.

If you need help learning how to tear cards, no resource on the planet will give you the level of detail my Card Tearing eBook gives you. From Techniques, to Progressions, to Exercises, I’ve got everything you need to know in order to start “cutting the deck” with extreme vengeance.

In a much more standard form of lifting, such as the Bench Press, Radiant Tension can instantly increase your bench by 10 to 20 pounds by learning to manage the tension. Like I said before, it is a skill that needs to be practiced.

Often when I see it discussed in other locations, Radiant Tension is described as “squeezing the bar as hard as you can.” While a new person who has never tried to employ Radiant Tension may indeed end up putting forth that kind of exertion in order to build a connection between the mind and the body, I think squeezing at that level of intensity all the time is actually a waste of energy and at the very least an unnecessary distraction.

I actually used to “squeeze as hard as possible” on many lifts when I performed them, but after playing around with this concept in the last year or so I’ve found that I get just as good if not better results by moderating the level of exertion and changing it depending on the movement I am doing and how much radiant tension I need on that day.

For instance, on the bench, if I squeeze too hard on the bar, it feels like I have trouble lowering the bar and my shoulders end up hurting. Whereas if I just tense my hands slightly, I can begin to feel that familiar sensation of tension radiating back and forth from my core and torso out to the bar and back in, feeling more stable, stronger in the movement, and having less stress in the shoulders.

Like I’ve said a couple of times, tension is a skill that needs to be practiced. This past summer, I was training a dude named Jim who would get on the bench and the bar would be all over the place. The first day I mentioned squeezing the bar, his form improved greatly and he was able to repeat the form much more easily. Gradually we worked outward away from the torso and began using systematic pulsing of the glutes in order get even more confident with the bar, perform more reps, and pack on more muscle.

Remember, tension is a skill you can practice to help you out in all of your strength endeavors, whether you are tearing cards, bending a frying pan, or powerlifting, there’s a place for it. You just have to use it and practice it in order to make it work best for you.

Incidentally, in this issue of the magazine, on page 20, there is another short piece by Ben Bruno called, “Curl More Weight, Increase Your Strength Immediately” that pretty much covers the same principle of Radiant Tension. I will let you check the magazine out yourself to see what I mean.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

Experimenting with Radiant Tension – Another Tool for Your Toolbox

A couple of weeks back, I posted that Smitty and I had been named to the board of advisors with the RKC and Dragondoor. I also posted a link to an article I had written for Dragondoor that had recently been posted, called Testing Radiant Tension Variations for Increased Performance in the Kettlebell Press

I had actually included a video to go along with that article, but for whatever reason it got missed and did not make it into the article, so I am posting it here, now.

I’ve got some pretty cool news to share with you today…

Smitty and I were recently named to a newly formed Board of Advisors within the RKC. I’m not exactly sure what all we will be called upon to do, as I don’t think there is a set agenda. However, I may call on you all in the Diesel Universe from time to time to get your opinion on some things.

Here is an excerpt from the April Dragondoor Newsletter in which the Board of Advisors was announced:
(more…)

I want to drink Ovaltine out of this…

The Goblet Squat is an outstanding alternative to the Back Squat that you can use from time to time in your training in order to mix things up and enjoy a bit of variety. It is most often performed with a dumbbell or kettlebell, but odd objects can be used as well.

The Goblet Squat was invented by the world-renowned speaker, author, accomplished athlete, and all-around strong dude, Dan John.

Dan John Loading up for a Monster Discuss Toss

How to Perform the Goblet Squat

The Grip